"If it sounds too good to be true . . . it probably is." This sage piece of advice is just as true today as it was when it was coined. The world is full of thieves and scam artists patiently waiting for a greedy, gullible mark to come along so they can line their pockets with his hard-earned money.

One such scam has been dubbed the "Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud or '419' Fraud," (after the relevant section of the Nigerian Criminal Code). The perpetrators use email, snail mail, fax and telephone to contact prospective victims, promising a substantial cash reward just to help Nigerian nationals move large sums of money out of country. The amounts involved are usually represented to be somewhere in the range of $35 million U. S., and they usually promise you one-third for your trouble -- $10 to $12 million just to set up a bank account in your name that will then supposedly be used to transfer the millions of dollars they have available!

The scam most often begins with a letter bearing a Nigerian postage stamp or frank mark (often forgeries). E-mails are becoming more frequent because they are harder for law enforcement agencies to intercept. The writer, usually bearing the title of Doctor, Chief or General, explains that a 'mutual business associate' has suggested that the writer confidentially contact the addressee. The scam is usually simply stated as "please help me move US $35 million out of Nigeria through your bank account and I will give you US $10 million for your mere participation!"

Some additional come-ons that are in circulation are:

1 A bank official writes to tell you that a European has died in tragic circumstances and that no next of kin can be traced. Unless some foreigner comes forward to claim the dead person's money it will revert to the bank.

2 Due to a war or coup there are funds that have been put aside and they need to be transferred out of the country to enable the writer to start a new life overseas.

3 A senior civil servant writes to tell you that he and his colleagues arranged that goods supplied to his ministry be over- invoiced. The contracting company has now been paid out and he needs your assistance to set up an overseas bank account for the residual balance.

4 A lottery company you have never heard of writes to tell you that you have won a large amount of money in a Pan-European lottery.

While the details are sometimes slightly different, there are certain aspects of the scam that are constant:

• The letters are often littered with spelling mistakes and bad grammar. This is a deliberate ploy by the scammers to present themselves as uneducated people who really need outside help. In truth, these people are intelligent, clever and ruthless;
• There is a large sum of money waiting to be paid out of Nigerian government coffers for a contract that has been completed.
• The writer purports to be a Government Official or acting on behalf of, or with the knowledge of, a top government official.
• The writer is willing to share the sizeable proceeds (usually in excess of $35 million), initially only for supplying a foreign bank account number to be used for the transfer of funds.
• Secrecy is always an absolute must to protect all concerned parties from corrupt government officials who would seize the money if they knew of its existence.
• Many times the name of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) figures prominently in the transaction although they are not involved in any manner.
• The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) is also often mentioned lending an air of credibility to the story, again without their knowledge.
• The writer mentions God a lot.
• Their e-mail address is always from a free internet mail service and it may change frequently.

Those who fall for the fraud and contact the scammers quickly become involved in a "hurdle" scheme with each hurdle increasing in size as the victim is thwarted each time he gets close to receiving his reward. At the heart of the scam is the advance fee aspect. The crunch comes when some last minute hitch is thrown into the equation; money is needed by the bank for setting up a new account, cash is needed by the lawyer to draw up some papers or the security company holding the money puts in a last minute request for demurrage or handling and administration fees. The victim is then asked to provide the money that, of course, will be refunded out of the huge amount being transferred into his bank account.

After the victim has been suckered in with these advance fees, the price gets higher. The victim is then usually told that the money has been transferred out of Nigeria, often to London, where it will be released as soon as a 1% or 2% handling fee is paid. This sum can, of course, be enormous but by now the victim has an investment in the scheme through the advance fees and by now may be somewhat desperate to recover his money.

Just say no?

If the victim cannot or refuses to pay any additional money, they ramp up the pressure often barraging him with faxes and phone calls. At this point the victim often borrows money to complete the transaction and often does not divulge the true reason for borrowing. When later interviewed by police the often cannot give any reason for this other than remaining loyal to the criminals and remembering the confidential aspect. The U. S. State Department has described it as: "...kind of like gambling. You get in so deep you keep putting money in to get something out of it."

How do they find victims?

Simple. They use every resource available -- telephone directories, yellow pages, and trade directories are the most common methods, followed by purchased and sometimes stolen mailing lists. With the advent of the Internet and the availability of "people finders" on CD, the traditional methods will undoubtedly decline and be superseded by electronic ones.

Where are the victims from?

Anywhere in the world! A police operation in London's Fraud Squad Office led to the arrest of a suspect who had just finished defrauding two victims who had traveled to London -- one from the outback of Northwest Australia, the other from Sitka, Alaska. With the use of modern telecommunications equipment, both victims thought they were speaking to the Central Bank of Nigeria in Lagos rather than someone in a hotel room in East London.

Are there face-to-face meetings and where do they take place?

Victims are often encouraged to travel to Nigeria to complete transactions. Those who do, eventually arrive penniless at their own embassies in Lagos with their sad tale of woe. Some are asked to travel to a neutral country to pick up their money. In the past London has been the favorite location. However South Africa and Spain are becoming increasingly more popular locations.

Violence has not been a factor in commission of these frauds in London. However victims traveling to South Africa have been subjected to violent assaults, robbery and in one case, murder.

Re-victimization trends

Sometimes when victims refuse to pay any more, the criminals then pose as Nigerian government officials, task force officers or police officers and offer to help get the money back. They will point out how poor the country is and require a fee to help with the investigation or prosecution. Amazingly (or maybe not), many fall for this second ruse.

Black Money Scam

Another favorite ruse often used in conjunction with advance fee fraud, is called the "Black Money Scam." The victim is shown a suitcase/trunk allegedly full of money (normally $100 bills) coated with a black substance to facilitate smuggling it out of Nigeria. The victim will have to purchase a 'special cleaning solution' that costs anywhere from $20,000 to $500,000 to return the notes to their original condition.

In order to establish veracity, the criminal will randomly select between two and four notes from the case, which he then washes with the 'special' solution to return them to real bank notes. The victim is invited to spend the notes or get them checked at the bank to confirm that they are genuine. In reality of course, the criminal knows perfectly well which notes to select. The remainder is just black paper cut to the proper size. A really dexterous criminal will invite the victim to choose the notes to clean and use a well-practiced sleight of hand to trick the victim into selecting the genuine ones.

The notes are usually pained with a Vaseline/iodine solution, and the very expensive special cleaning solution is a mixture of soap and any other liquid with an unusual odor and color, which the victim will not be able to easily detect. On some occasions, as a sign of good faith, the victim will be allowed to keep the suitcase for a short time until he obtains the money to buy the solution. To prevent the victim from opening the case, he is told that exposure to air will cause the black coating to ruin the money. Often ammonia is placed inside the suitcase in the event the victim does open the case.

How much?

It's estimated that $4 to $5 million are lost to these scams annually. As previously stated, victims are targeted world wide, with tens of thousands of letters and e-mails being sent out daily. Most people show good sense and throw them away, but if only one-percent show interest and one-percent of that one- percent get hooked, then there are still big profits for the fraudsters.

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Dave Owen, webmaster of www.Scam-Information.com, provides you
with the information you need to protect yourself from scams and
schemers. For more information send a note to: scaminfo@scam-information.com.
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